Targeted investments in early literacy and math programs for the youngest students¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · no claims cited

Description¶

The brief closes by recommending targeted investment in early-grade literacy and math programming in response to pandemic-era achievement losses. It states: "These results highlight the need for targeted investments in early literacy and math programs to ensure that our youngest students can develop these essential skills." The recommendation rests on the brief's findings that grades 1–2 achievement remains substantially below historical levels and that marginalized and economically disadvantaged students lost the most ground.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Directed at first- and second-grade students whose achievement remains below prepandemic levels in reading and math

Constraints¶

• Grounded in observational comparisons of 2021–22 versus 2018–19 MAP Growth data rather than an evaluation of any specific program

Target Learners¶

• First- and second-grade elementary students

Target Learning Goals¶

• Early literacy
• Early mathematics

Claims¶

Related Strategies¶

• Use school-level recovery patterns to target support and long-term improvement investments where they are needed most
• Focus instructional support on helping the lowest-achieving students catch up after pandemic disruptions
• Invest early: identify learning problems and intervene before third or sixth grade rather than waiting for promotional gates

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Kuhfeld, M., & Lewis, K. (2022). COVID-19 in the early elementary years: A comparison of achievement in spring 2019 and spring 2022. NWEA Collaborative for Student Growth. https://www.nwea.org/research/publication/covid-19-in-the-early-elementary-years-a-comparison-of-achievement-in-spring-2019-and-spring-2022/